Featured Guests
Katie Robinson, Chief Marketing Officer, Principal, LS3P
Susan Strom, Chief Client Success Officer at Knowledge Architecture
Christopher Parsons, Founder and CEO, Knowledge Architecture
Webinar Summary
In the fast-paced world of Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC), marketing professionals often find themselves in a constant state of firefighting—dealing with pressing issues and urgent deadlines. But what if there was a way to shift from this reactive mode to a more strategic, impactful approach? This SMPS Learning Lab explores how Knowledge Management can be the key to transforming AEC marketing, offering benefits that extend from personal career growth to enhanced team effectiveness and firm-wide performance.
Knowledge Management is not just a technical or operational function—it has profound implications for marketing. By effectively managing knowledge, AEC marketing teams can move from simply responding to urgent demands to strategically planning and executing campaigns that align with long-term business goals.
Katie Robinson experienced this constant state of firefighting 20 years ago when she joined LS3P as a marketing coordinator. In her words, “I didn’t want to live like this anymore.” She was wasting too much time searching for assets, project information, and resumes to put together competitive proposals. So she took responsibility for Knowledge Management and the rest is history! Today she is a Principal and the Chief Marketing Officer at LS3P.
This SMPS Learning Lab dives into the real-world application of Knowledge Management at LS3P. Katie shares lessons learned from:
Building and leading the Knowledge Management program at LS3P
Establishing LS3P’s Data Managers program
Launching F.R.A.N.K., LS3Ps new Synthesis intranet
Overcoming organizational barriers to change
This session aims to inspire AEC marketers to embrace Knowledge Management as a strategic tool that can elevate their roles within their firms. By moving from firefighting to strategizing, marketers can significantly enhance their impact, driving both personal and organizational success.
Webinar Timeline
Introduction
00:00 Welcome
01:08 What is Knowledge Management?
05:16 Opening Exercise: 3 KM Elements Your Firm is Currently Using
07:37 One Bright Spot in Marketing’s Knowledge Management Approach
09:17 Speaker Introduction: Katie Robinson
Katie Robinson, LS3P
12:15 Marketing + Knowledge Management
14:26 Where LS3P Started with Project Data
16:26 Collecting Project Data in Vision
20:07 Who Will Collect the Data?
21:42 Checking Our Progress
22:59 The Data Manager Project Role
25:30 Additional Benefits of Project Data Collection
27:04 Synthesis Intranet Integration
29:04 Project + Employee Directories
30:09 Experiential Knowledge
31:42 Getting Started with Knowledge Management
Q+A
33:28 How did KM affect your professional journey?
35:39 What kind of resistance did you face?
37:04 How do different marketing roles respond to the data collection task?
38:14 What about marketing works well with data collection?
40:01 How did you format the data for the initial data collectors?
42:22 What's a good starting point for a small firm?
45:27 How do you build updates into your process?
47:03 How do you maintain enthusiasm for updating the data?
49:08 How do you get leadership on board?
51:38 How do you maintain consistent data across departments?
54:28 Do you have a written data or KM strategy?
55:47 Can you describe the purpose of Vantagepoint, OpenAsset, and FRANK?
Additional Resources
KA CONNECT TALK | Smarter by Design: A Knowledge Management Manifesto for the AEC Industry
In his KA Connect 2016 talk, Christopher Parsons shares his vision for the future of Knowledge Management in the AEC industry. Watch this video to learn what knowledge management is, why it matters, and strategies for managing knowledge and building knowledge management teams.
KA CONNECT DEEP DIVE | LS3P on Managing Project Metrics
In this 2020 Deep Dive session, Katie shares tips and tricks for establishing a firmwide “Data Manager Program” including lessons learned, capturing institutional knowledge from senior leadership, managing change, significant benefits of the program, and strategies for implementation.
INTRANET TOUR | Launching Synthesis @ LS3P
In this recent Intranet Tour, Katie shares a high-level tour of LS3P’s Synthesis intranet, F.R.A.N.K., key roles and responsibilities that made the implementation a success, and critical implementation moments and lessons learned.